Easy Guide to Use Meat Thermometer

October 6, 2024

Why meat thermometer matters?

In our daily cooking, the cooking temperature is the most vital factor to food safety. The right cooking temperature is the most efficient and most effective method to secure food safety and the excellent taste and nutrition of cooked food; while the wrong cooking temperature is the most vital cause for failed cooking, nutrition loosing and bad tastes.

Here is the temperature chart for general meats:

Cooking Chicken

The minimum internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165°F (73.9°C);

Cooking Pork:

Pork chops, roasts, and tenderloin: Cook to a minimum internal temperature of 145°F (63°C). This temperature helps the meat retain moisture and flavor without drying out.
Ground pork, organ meats, and meatloaf: Cook to a minimum internal temperature of 160°F (71°C).
Fully cooked ham: Can be reheated to 140°F or eaten cold. Fresh ham should be cooked to 145°F and then rested for 3 minutes.

Cooking steak:

Rare: 52°C (125°F)
Medium rare: 57°C (135°F)
Medium: 63°C (145°F)
Medium well: 66°C (150°F)
Well done: 71°C (160°F)

Cooking lamb:

Rare: 115–120°F
Medium-rare: 125°F
Medium: 130°F
Medium-well: 145°F
Well done: 150°F
Ground lamb: 160°F

Cooking Salmon:

According to the USDA recommends the salmon temperature to be 145°F

Cooking Turkey:

The minimum safe cooking temperature for a turkey is 325°F, and the turkey should reach an internal temperature of 165°F.

IMPORTANT TIPS

Three factors to be an excellent cook: Ingredients, cooking temp, cooking time

What does meat thermometer do?

Knowing the cooking temperature is the basic skill and comment sense for cooking, while mastering the cooking temperature, the internal cooking temperature is a must skill for an outstanding chef.

How to know and master the internal cooking temperature? Especially for cooking beginners and cooking lovers?

Using a reliable meat thermometer is the best and easiest way to know and master the cooking internal temperature, and using a meat thermometer is the only reliable way to ensure food safety and to determine desired "doneness" of cooking.

And here is the definition from Wikipedia:

“A meat thermometer or cooking thermometer or a kitchen thermometer is a thermometer used to measure the internal temperature of meat, especially roasts and steaks, and other cooked foods. The degree of "doneness" of meat or bread correlates closely with the internal temperature, so that a thermometer reading indicates when it is cooked as desired. When cooking, food should always be cooked so that the interior reaches a temperature sufficient, that in the case of meat is enough to kill pathogens that may cause foodborne illness or, in the case of bread, that is done baking; the thermometer helps to ensure this.”

Thus, a meat thermometer is a must-have kitchen tool for most of household.

How meat thermometer works?

Actually, the working principle is much easy to understanding:

When we insert a meat thermometer into the meat, its temperature sensor in its probe will start sensing the internal temperature of the meat and keep sensing for seconds, and then it will display its average value, that is why when we insert the meat thermometer, its screen will display the temperature immediately and keep changing until it gets a stable temperature number.

When and where to use a meat thermometer?

Anytime we would like to test the internal meat temperature or we wanna to be a better cook, we DO need to use a meat thermometer.

Most of meat thermometers are very easy to easy, especially those instant read meat thermometers such as JIMUTO instant read thermometer IRT-10, they are just folding, unfolding, inserting and button pressing, easy to go.

But as wireless meat thermometers, or WIFI meat thermometers or smart meat thermometers, they are generally will be a little difficult to use, especially for the seniors, because we have to set up the WIFI or app or even the router right before we can start to use them.

Thus, we strongly recommend us all to take the digital instant read thermometer as our first choice, especially if we would like to invite our children or our parents to join our cooking journey.

When we use a meat thermometer, we need to insert its probe into the thickest part of the meat, and we need to avoid its fat or bone, because the fat and the bone will affect the accuracy of temperature reading.

And we do not recommend to use meat thermometer for those thin meat or cooking objects such as pizza.

How to clean a meat thermometer after use?

Keeping cooking tools clean is a good habit that all of us should have and should keep.

So how should we clean a meat thermometer after use? Here are some general and practical tips:

If the description or specification of the meat thermometer is sated clearly and specific that it is waterproof and can be watched by a dishwasher, then we can clean it with water and wash it directly by a dishwasher, or please do not water it or put it into a dishwasher for washing;
If the description or specification of the meat thermometer is sated clearly and specific that it is waterproof and can be rinsed under tap water, then we can clean it by rinsing it under tap water;
If the description or specification of the meat thermometer is sated clearly and specific that it is NOT waterproof, we cannot wash it with water or put it into our dishwasher, and we need to follow its cleaning notice or guidelines for cleaning.

Generally, we need to keep the meat thermometer dry and avoid colliding with other objects. And this is the easiest way to protect our meat thermometer.

What is a best meat thermometer or a best food thermometer?

As for a best meat thermometer or a best food thermometer, it should have the following standards：

Accuracy: the accuracy of temperature reading is the heart and soul of a best meat thermometer or a best food thermometer, or we can even say the accuracy is the basic and the only one index to judge if a meat thermometer or a food thermometer is a good one.
Stability: the stability of temperature reading is the second mandatory standard for a best meat thermometer or a best food thermometer. Generally, the meat thermometer or the food thermometer/kitchen thermometer should need several seconds to sense and stabilize the temperature of food cooking, so, we CANNOT judge that the faster of temperature reading, the better of the meat thermometer or food/kitchen thermometer will be. On the contrary, the more stable of temperature reading, the better they will be.
For those Wi-Fi meat thermometers or wireless meat thermometers or smart thermometers, they must offer stable wi-fi or wireless or/and app connection and operation besides the stability of temperature reading.
Easy to use: if we have to spend lots of time to learn how to use a meat thermometer/food thermometer, or if we need fight through many complicated steps to start reading of cooking temperature, those meat thermometers/food thermometers/kitchen thermometers should get off the list of good thermometers. What’s more, the meat thermometer/food thermometer/kitchen thermometer should be also friendly to the young and the senior.

This standard is also suitable for Wi-Fi meat thermometers or wireless meat thermometers or smart thermometers.

Solid quality: Solid quality is a basic factor to be a best meat thermometer/food thermometer/kitchen thermometer, but we would also specify here for reminding.

How to choose a right meat thermometer?

When we decide to choose a meat thermometer, we need to consider the standards specified above, and we also need to consider the cost.

a digital instant read thermometer before beers

Any good meat thermometer to recommend?

Based on the above standards, we would like to recommend JIMUTO instant read thermometer IRT-10, because it can meet all of the above standards and even offers more:

arc design: very beautiful and nice design for practical use;
fast & accurate temp reading;
out of box: super easy to use, even for the the kids and the seniors;
large LED display & easy temp reading: loving it very much;
lock reading temp and max & min records: very helpful and practical for grilling and home cooking;
calibration;
2 placing methods: I love it so much; it is easy to place it;
IPX7: after use it, we can rinse it under the running water directly;
eco-friendly;
bottle opener: I do love this feature which I can drink at anywhere and anytime when grilling and cooking.